


Nuances

by twistmyleg



Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Games, Jealousy, M/M, assume post game here, run cordelia RUN, that being said ALFYN CALM, therion is not suffering yay, tressa being extremely tressa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 10:10:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17865329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twistmyleg/pseuds/twistmyleg
Summary: Green always had its variants. In life. In nature. In sickness and health.And in boiling emotions Alfyn's not used to.





	Nuances

“Now you must tell me what happens next in the story of the princess and the noble thief!” A blush crossed the younger lady’s face. Her eyes darted frantically around her, relief pooling in them to find no one else in the vicinity.

“A-Ah! Noa, please! Don’t mention such an embarrassing thing in front of others!” The older lady - Noa Wyndham - giggled with delight, hands clasped with excitement.

“What do you have to be embarrassed about? I think it’s a wonderful story! It’s so romantic…”

And that was all Alfyn cared enough to hear. 

It did not matter that romance had nothing to do with the situation at hand, nor that the conversation would switch to a different topic on its own; all Alfyn could see and hear was green. Not just any green: a sickly green that boiled in the pits of his stomach. It made his mind churn similar to the waves on Grandport’s shores, peaceful as the town was. His feet carried him easily to the inn at the entrance to town, as fast as they would allow him. He passed by countless others, shouting from afar whether he would care to indulge in their products. He did not answer them. His mind was focused on one thing alone: getting to the inn and filling his desire to see a specific someone.

He did not have to get very far upon arriving in the inn. The man in question sat in the sitting area with the remainder of their group, throwing a few leaves onto the table and looking quite pleased with himself. Tressa, directly to his left, eyed him thoroughly before throwing in her leaves as well. Ophilia, to his right, shook her head and dropped her cards to the table before clasping her hands in the petite way she always did. Cyrus scrutinized them all with his quizzical glance before throwing his own leaves onto the table, making a noise of satisfaction with his decision. Olberic, to Cyrus’ right, dropped his cards and folded his arms solemnly. Primrose dropped her cards, but not before teasingly rolling a coin toward the center of the table. H’aanit dropped her cards and instantly took to petting Linde at her side. She was never one for card games.

“Well then,” Cyrus cleared his throat, flipping over his cards, “let’s see if you chose the logical course of action.” Tressa scoffed, flipping her cards and smirking triumphantly. She had him beat by one card. Cyrus gave a noise of defeat and leaned back into the couch with despair. 

“I think I did, Professor.” She turned to Therion, nudging him lightly with her knuckles. Something about the action added more green into Alfyn’s stomach. “But let’s see about you, Therion. Did you make the logical choice? You can’t keep up the poker face forever.” Therion’s pleased smile was unwavering -- and Alfyn’s heart fluttered just a bit at how beautiful it was -- as he slowly unveiled his cards to the group. Tressa’s jaw went slack and her arms flailed in every direction. “No! I thought you were bluffing!” He shook his head.

“What? Because I’ve been bluffing for the last few rounds? It isn’t my winning strategy until it fools the mind of an over assuming player.” He reached his hands toward the center of the table and collected his prize money. Glancing from the stacks in the middle, his fortune had been built up over many rounds of bluffing and folding. Tressa let out a gasp and she exchanged gazes with Alfyn. She pointed in his direction, brow furrowing in frustration. “Alfyn! Tell your boyfriend that he needs to stop cheating!” Therion’s eye met with his. It was a calming pool of seafoam green against the boiling vomit green that had been deepening since his arrival. His smile softened to greet him. By Gods, Alfyn could not be a luckier man if he tried.

“Tell Tressa that taking lessons in bluffing from Ophilia is, in fact, not cheating. It’s gaining experience for future rounds against her competitive bargaining skills.” Tressa let out a huff toward Ophilia, who had unclasped her hands and placed one of them on Therion’s in support of his defense. 

“Ophilia! I thought we were best friends! How dare you go behind my back and train my rival in the art of bluffing!” Ophilia let out a serene giggle, shaking her head.

“I offered to give you lessons, Tress, but you claimed that you could win without my tips! Therion came to me himself for advice, so I was more than happy to teach him.” And then his heart was beating erratically for the same reason as before, the green returning in his mind and stomach. His relaxed lips curled downward into a form of a scowl. Tressa noticed this immediately, for as she went to complain again about facing a dire betrayal and needing a supportive friend to stand with her, her breath hitched and her eyes pooled with concern. “Hey, Alf? Something on your mind?” All eyes were now on Alfyn, whose eyes locked with Therion’s lonesome one. He removed his hand from Ophilia’s and his smile faded.

“You look more downtrodden than you should. What’s got your concoctions botched up? Herbs cost more than they should? I can steal them if we need them, you know.” Although Tressa frowned at his words, Alfyn shook his head.

“It’s nothin’. I’m alright.” Therion shot him a knowing look -- the one that knew he was an open book when it came to his emotions -- before shoving his prize into his pockets. They sagged to the side with previous earnings over their travels, jingling in satisfaction. He made a gesture to the other group members, each with inquisitive looks.

“I doubt it, but I won’t question you. I know you better than to ask...for now.” Alfyn let out a mental sigh of relief.  _ Thank you.  _ Therion motioned toward an empty chair next to Ophilia. “Let’s start up a new round; Alfyn’s dealing since he just joined.” 

“Alfyn, watch your boyfriend closely this time! I swear he’s cheating! Only you can stop him!” Tressa demanded as Alfyn situated himself in the chair, taking the cards from Cyrus on his right. After a quick shuffle and deal of the cards, their next round initiated. Alfyn glanced at his cards in the hopes to distract him from the issue. It was not the best hand, but he could make it work. He watched carefully as the remaining group members acted: Ophilia doubled the amount necessary to join, smiling sweetly all the same. Therion threw in some leaves from his pockets, keeping a neutral expression. Tressa threw in the same amount, giving his boyfriend the evil eye as she did. As H’aanit proceeded to add to the pile and Primrose folded, Therion held his hands innocently in the air.

“I feel harassed there, Tress. You keep giving me your stink eye, distracting me quite a bit.” She narrowed her eyes, arms akimbo.

“That’s the whole point. Make it ‘till you break it. And I’ll make you break.” Ophilia leaned closer to Therion, whispering something in his ear while smiling toward Tressa. Therion let out a hearty laugh in response, fueling the boiling pot of green below. Tressa used a fist to nudge Therion in the shoulder, to which he clutched it histrionically and pretended to wail aloud.

“Oh, Tressa! Why do you hurt me so? I was only sharing a fine joke with Phili!” 

“That was a game secret, I’m telling you! You two are colluding against me!” Ophilia let out a laugh this time, as gentle and sweet as her personality. 

“I just thought of something funny, and I thought Therion would like to know. It wasn’t a winning strategy, Tressa. I would not be so unfair as to lead him to victory.” 

“How can I trust that when he’s already won because of your lessons?!” More laughter from Therion and Ophilia; this time, H’aanit gave a small smile and Primrose sat between her and Tressa to cool the young one’s temper.

“Alfyn, if you did not like your hand so much, your face shows it.” 

Alfyn turned to face Cyrus, who had a brow raised in curiosity. Next to him, Olberic had folded his cards. The pile had grown bigger in the center of the table, indicating Cyrus’ course of action. He motioned to the hand again. “It’s your turn, Alfyn. Based on your grip on those cards, I’d say folding is your best choice?” He did not even notice that his grip had tightened. The cards were practically crumpled under him. Alfyn shook his head as he threw in the required leaves, aware that Therion gave him a watchful eye.

“It’s not that, Professor. I can still win,” he reassured, leaning back into the chair. Cyrus clicked his tongue in amusement.

“If you say, Alfyn.” He motioned to Ophilia. “Well, my dear? Are you to fold yet or add to the pile?” She shook her head, throwing in another few leaves.

“I’m still in this for the win, Professor. Don’t underestimate me as you have done before.” Therion chuckled as he threw in the same amount, followed by a low whistle. 

“Yeah. You and Tressa lost to her numerous times before, remember? She has the perfect poker face.” He raised his brow toward Tressa. “Unlike some people.” She immediately threw her leaves in the center of the table.

“Oh yeah? Watch me win now!” Primrose shook her finger at Therion.

“You shouldn’t get her all worked up like that, Therion. She’ll lose all of her hard-earned profits from selling wares here.” He shrugged, giving her a relaxed smile.

“She’s still got a billion leaves stashed for her to take one day, no? Losing this money today is nothing. Besides, this is how the game works: you have to play mind games with your opponents.” Primrose sighed, reaching over and flicking him in the same shoulder. Alfyn flinched at the contact as H’aanit dropped her cards and took to petting Linde once more. 

“I shouldn’t have tried. I’ve known you for so long that I should be adjusted to these smartass responses.” Therion let out another chuckle at that, simultaneously calming yet fueling the green spreading beyond his stomach through his veins.

“Alfyn, I really think you should fold.” 

He turned once more to Cyrus, who motioned to his cards again with a brow raised.  _ The professor’s probably right. I don’t have the focus to win this round.  _ He eyed Cyrus’ cards, which had been flipped upside down.  _ Especially if the professor folded as well.  _ He sighed with defeat, slipping his cards on the table and folding his arms. He was aware again of Therion’s eye upon his cross form, curiosity dancing within it.

“You sure this is about the game?” he asked carefully, watching as Ophilia laid her cards on the table. It was quite the hand, being a full-house. Alfyn nodded.

“I’m fine.” He averted his gaze, doing his best to focus on H’aanit and Linde by the fireplace. Linde’s whiskers had curled in satisfaction, matching her purrs as her master tended to her whims. It was heartwarming, yet at the same time not what Alfyn needed to calm himself. In a way, it only  _ worsened  _ matters. Meanwhile, Tressa snickered as she slammed her cards onto the table. Ophilia sighed in defeat as Tressa jumped in her spot with glee, arms flailing above her head.

“Yes! I beat you, Phili! Four of a kind!” She turned to Therion. “There’s no way you’re going to beat that, cheater! Give up your hand and give me all my hard-earned leaves back!” Therion let out a sigh, eye closing and shuffling his cards carefully.

“Alright, alright. I’ll admit it.” He threw his hand on the table. Tressa’s gasp was high-pitched as she fell back onto her chair. Ophilia giggled from her seat, offering her hand to Therion in celebration. His eye opened as he returned the gesture to Ophilia, sending a new wave of green below. “You have a terrible poker face, Tress. Thanks for the ale tonight. I’ll be singing my praises three mugs in.” 

“H-H-How dare you! When did you have time to get a straight flush?!” Tressa screamed, shoving Therion against the chair and huffing loudly. Primrose placed a calming hand on her shoulder while also proceeding to flick Therion again, this time on his nose.

“No need to exaggerate it, Therion. Her ego is already damaged from your constant taunting. And Tressa, we can’t win every round of this game. Sometimes we have accept that others are better.” She glanced at Ophilia. “Perhaps taking those lessons with Phili would help you out after all.” 

“Alfyn, I fear you’re going to lose circulation in your hands if you keep squeezing them like that,” came the matter-of-fact voice next to him once more.

Now all eyes were on Alfyn again. Tressa’s exasperated look morphed into curiosity and concern, hand pointing at his whitened knuckles. “Yeah, just look how pale they are! Did we do something to upset you, Alf? I’ve never seen you so...I don’t know, frustrated? Is he ever really frustrated?” 

“Normally, no. Are you alright, Alfyn…?” Ophilia called out to him. Therion stood, hands secure around his pockets to safeguard his winnings.

“Can you all leave us alone for a minute? We’ll start a new round after this. I promise not to steal your earnings in the meanwhile.” They glanced at each other briefly before removing themselves from the sitting area, although Tressa slipped her remaining leaves into her pack before exiting . Their eyes met again, and this time Therion crossed his arms as he closed the distance between them. “Alright, Alfyn. What’s really the matter? Poker doesn’t frustrate you that much, especially when I win us a trip to the tavern.” Alfyn sighed. Being supportive to his man was a double-edged sword: he could be the supportive person he wanted for Therion, but in turn he had to share his own problems, even though they were nothing compared to his.

“...Remember how H’aanit and I went to retrieve Noa’s letter from that sketchy brigand?” Therion nodded.

“Did you two fail? Is that why she returned so early?” Alfyn shook his head.

“No; H’aanit beat the crook pretty quickly. No one really expected a wild animal to attack ‘im. H’aanit returned while I went to give the letter to Miss Cordelia outside the inn.” Just saying her name sent another wave of green through him. Therion must have noticed, for his arms uncrossed from his chest and found a new resting place on his shoulders. His hands cupped his cheeks, eye now flooded with concern and thumbs rubbing gently.

“Then what’s got you all twisted up? If something happened in the time between, then tell me.” 

“It’s not that anyone died or something terrible happened. Cordelia got the letter from Noa and seemed pretty content with it. Noa ended up visitin’ her outside and they had a lovely chat about Noa’s travels. Although Noa mentioned that Cordelia was a fantastic story-writer…” Therion let out a low whistle.

“Didn’t know she liked to write. But then what got you worked up, if no one died?” Alfyn averted his gaze, letting a rush of red flood his cheeks. His arms wrapped around Therion’s waist, pulling him closer, earning him a soft gasp from the thief.

“Noa mentioned Cordelia was writing a romantic story of a princess and a thief together.” 

Silence. Therion blinked a few times in surprise, brow raised. Then, Therion erupted into laughter, taking a few steps back and hunching over. His hand clutched his stomach as he did his best to take in deep breaths, yet it failed as his laughter continued. Alfyn frowned, crossing his arms and raising his brow. “I didn’t think it was so funny to be such a laughin’ matter.” Therion shook his head, lifting himself and rubbing at his eye. A playful smile crossed his lips.

“ _ That’s  _ what this was about? A silly fantasy Cordelia imagined about my task with the dragonstones?” He stifled another laugh, placing his hands on Alfyn’s shoulders again. “Gods, Alfyn, that’s nothing to get worked up over. It’s just a fantasy. I could never see her in that light. Too petite and noble; she’s better off with someone like Cyrus, but younger.” Alfyn bit his lip, eyes averted from his gaze again.

“Well, it didn’t seem like it then. And it’s not just that. It was the poker game too.” Therion raised a brow.

“And not about me winning, I presume?” He clicked his tongue. “Oh, of course. I’ll tell Tressa not to be so loud when she loses to me again next round. She was quite riled, after all, but I can’t help my good stratagems.” Alfyn shook his head, arms wrapping around Therion and pulling him closer than before. His chin rested on Alfyn’s shoulder, nose brushing against his jaw. He leaned closer to Therion’s ear, breath creating goosebumps down his neck. A deeper shade of crimson crossed his cheeks. The boiling green surged everywhere. “Alfyn…?”

“You give them all so much attention,” he whispered, keeping his grip steady around Therion’s waist. “High-fivin’ them, teasin’ them, and playin’ along with their antics. To someone else, it could appear as if you were romantically involved with them. And when I see that...well, makes me wish I was that person instead, y’know?” 

More silence. Therion’s breath hitched beside him. Another laugh broke the silence, however, it came out as a soft chuckle. He felt Therion’s head relax against his shoulder, buried in the crook of his neck, as if deadpanning. “Alfyn, sometimes you just amaze me.” 

“Amaze ya?” Therion nodded.

“I didn’t even think you to be the jealous type. Shame on me for not looking into you deeper.” He lifted his head, face millimeters from his own. His hands moved to cup both sides of his face, holding his gaze. “Alfyn, you do realize I’m dating  _ you _ , right? Not them?”

“Even so--”

“They’re our friends, Alfyn. Of course I’m going to drive them crazy. We’ve all become close over this journey; it’s hard not to have these types of interactions. That being said, there will always be things that I save for your eyes and ears only. No one else will ever get to experience them.” Alfyn let out a huff, although the green had begun to dissipate.

“Like what? Triple high-fives? Pats on the back? Playful nudges when I lose?” The last thing Alfyn heard was a soft chuckle before his lips were snatched. Any semblance of green that boiled in his veins melted away, leaving streaks of pink and white in their wake. The boiling sentiment quelled in his stomach. Alfyn’s thoughts melted into the moment, reminding himself of how wonderful Therion was; how he would never leave him under any circumstances. The kiss was short-lived as Therion broke it off, but did not pull away from him. His forehead rested against his own. His hands remained cupped on the sides of his face. A loving smile replaced the playful one.

“I love  _ you _ , Alfyn. Don’t forget that. They may be our friends, and we may joke around, but my heart is yours alone. And it will always be yours, no matter who you think is going to snatch it. Understand?” Alfyn nodded, a smile finally toying on his lips.

“...Thanks, Therion. I love ya too.” He let out a soft chuckle. “I-I guess it did sound a bit ridiculous, heh?”

“I’m just surprised you imagined me with Cordelia, of all people. It’s like you were asleep everytime we went back to Bolderfall to give them updates on the stones!” Both let out another chuckle. “And with Tressa and Ophilia? I love them as friends, but Aeber damn me if I had to date them. I couldn't last a day with either of them. Too boisterous and too sweet respectively. I couldn’t last a day with any girl, mind you. Much as they’ll try and imagine it.” 

“Would that make them jealous of me, then?” Therion let out a half-snort, tracing a finger down his jawline.

“If I’m the wild man of their fantasies, you better watch out. You’re their handsome rival that always sees their goals through to the end. Of course, I don’t think they’ll stand a chance against your jealousy. This is the first time I’ve seen you this possessive of anything, and it was quite effective at drawing attention.”

“‘Cause you mean that much to me, Therion. No way can I let ya go. I’d fight off every competitor in my way just to protect ya.” Therion exhaled with content, eye sparkling with fondness.

“You’ll always win in a competition for my heart, Alfyn. I have no doubt.” 

And that was all Alfyn needed to hear to dissipate the green for a long time to come.

**Author's Note:**

> when i did the cordelia/noa sidequest, i couldn't stop laughing at the thought of alfyn hearing this and thinking WOAH WOAH WOAH THAT'S MY MAN GET AWAY. hence, we have arrived here.
> 
> anyway hope you enjoyed! :)


End file.
